The estuarine lagoon and freshwater wetlands of Kah Tai are the remains of an extensive estuary to Port Townsend Bay. What survives today, though diminished, is a remarkably tranquil oasis, not wilderness but still wild. The original intent of its creation should be respected, so that this gem in the heart of our community is preserved in perpetuity.

Wednesday, November 25, 2015

the colors of late autumn

English hawthorn, Crategus laevigata

common privet, Ligustrum vulgare

Washington hawthorn, Crategus phaenopyrum

Kah Tai is settling in for the winter, and berries seem to be everywhere. Although none of those pictured here are native species, all provide some food value for wildlife. We continue to plant natives but many are too immature to fruit. Look for blue elderberry and evergreen huckleberry to produce in the not too distant future.

Above are two non-native hawthorns and a privet. That Washington hawthorn is named after the 'other' Washington, first noted in cultivation in the 1700s in the Washington DC area.

The work continues to minimize the spread of invasive English holly and English ivy in the park. Both species are so successful that they crowd out the native understory. Both produce berries of interest to birds and so proliferate beneath the trees where birds perch. Funny how passage through a bird's gut can determine the location of the next generation of invasives.

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Kah Tai 2012

An excellent overview of earlier efforts to preserve Kah Tai Lagoon Nature Park can be found here.

Kah Tai public presentations

Admiralty Audubon's November 17, 2011 program was a Kah Tai status update. Thirty-some people attended to hear about the RCO recommendation, the NPS ruling that includes all 78.5 acres of Kah Tai in the 6(f) boundary, and the Port's lawsuit against the City, RCO and NPS in an attempt to overturn that ruling.

Admiralty Audubon featured a presentation by Rick Jahnke on 17 February 2011, which included a history of the Park's creation and current attempts to develop the uplands. We estimated 40-50 attendees.

The Sierra Club of the North Olympic Peninsula presented a talk on the history of Kah Tai at their first Port Townsend general gathering, 22 January 2011. Rick Jahnke included a history of the Park's creation and current attempts to develop the uplands. We counted about 40 attendees in a standing-room-only crowd at the Community Center.

A roomful of Port Townsend citizens (we counted 65) attended a presentation on 25 August 2010. The warm-up music included two great protest songs written especially for fundraising to save Kah Tai in the late 1970s. Several visual displays highlighted the history of the struggle to protect Kah Tai from development incursions.